A few nights ago, a family member sent a text message about friends ’concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine. The message suggested that colleagues felt it was not worth getting the vaccine, because epidemiologists say even vaccinated people can transmit the virus.
In other words, it was thought that if a vaccine does not guarantee total immunity to you and everyone around you, what sense does it make?
This family member and his friends were young essential workers who had been prioritized for vaccination. But the answer to his skepticism was simple: get the vaccine as soon as possible.
Here’s why.
Our best tool to control the new coronavirus is our own immune system. The basic problem is that our immune system must see the virus that causes COVID-19 to learn how to protect us. Vaccines solve this problem by letting our immune systems see what the virus is like before we become infected, so that we can learn how to fight the virus. Booster vaccines (both vaccines authorized in the United States require one) work like exercise, helping the immune system to further improve its ability to fight the virus.
Through unprecedented global effort and the use of cutting-edge technologies, we have developed a vaccine against COVID-19 faster than previous generations would have ever dreamed possible. The need to quickly reduce mortality with this new tool meant that we had to act before we knew exactly how much it would help slow down transmission, rather than disease.
Clinical trials have made it quite clear that the current cultivation of Pfizer, Moderna and other vaccines worldwide is safe and effective against severe COVID-19 disease. But some questions went unanswered immediately after the release. How long would the protection last? Will the vaccine prevent transmission, rather than help prevent people from getting very sick or dying? Will the virus evolve like the flu and cause repeated epidemics?
Because of these unknowns, messages about the vaccine have been cautious. Scientists and public health officials are reluctant to make statements about the effectiveness of a new pharmaceutical product without evidence to back it up. This is particularly true, because misrepresentations, however intentional, can undermine confidence during a pandemic that has seen the response to public health guidelines too politicized.
Specific case: attitudes about masking.
But there is a downside to this prudent message. Lack of certainty or strong empirical evidence is often interpreted to mean that we have evidence of something no cert. This phenomenon is only exacerbated by voices from the anti-fax community and other public health skeptics. People can only hear that we cannot say that the vaccine does not prevent transmission and that it is not simply because we are waiting for the tests to arrive, or that most experts would be shocked if it did not have at least some effect on prevention. contagion.
Similarly, prudent public health advice aimed at averting an involuntary tragedy, such as a warning to continue at a social distance and take precautions even if vaccinated, often ends up raising skepticism about vaccination.
The result is that, all too often, people don’t see at all why they should be vaccinated.
They are not vaccine skeptics or anti-cowboys who normally oppose vaccination. Instead, they are concerned and thoughtful, concerned about the possibility of denying a protective vaccine to someone at high risk or taking a still new medical product for few benefits to themselves and others.
It is critical that we get the message to these people both about how we believe the vaccine may work based on its underlying biology, and about what rapidly emerging evidence tells us about the effectiveness and safety of vaccines.
This message is this: Based on the performance of similar vaccines, the fact that asymptomatic people are less likely to transmit coronavirus, and a rapidly growing body of direct evidence in trials and campaigns, we are confident that vaccination against COVID-19 reduces the chances of transmitting the virus. Transmission protection may be significantly lower than protection against serious disease, but at this point it would be more than shocking if there were no impact.
Evidence points to a natural immunity that lasts for many months, although reinfection is possible (especially after a mild illness). The vaccine is likely to confer similar protection, although this is less clear. Most importantly, even if the protection is not permanent, either due to decreased immunity or new variants of the virus evolving to escape growing human immunity, subsequent infections are likely to be less severe for those whose immune systems have had a chance to learn a little about viruses.
Critically, even if the effects of vaccines on COVID-19 transmission are imperfect and temporary, vaccination will still lead to a massive decrease in the number of cases if, and only if, there is widespread vaccine uptake. in the general population. This is the safest way to get back to a place where we can all participate in the parties, dinners and simple office refrigerator conversations we so long for.
Therefore, when you have the opportunity to get vaccinated, take it. It will make all our lives better.